The game of golf has been a source of frustration for multitudes of golfers who have struggled to achieve consistently good results when playing this very difficult game.
Part of the difficulty in reducing golf scores and/or striking the ball consistently well is that much of what is required to be a good golfer is anti-intuitive to most players. For example, while great emphasis is placed in many golf courses on hitting the ball a long distance, attempts by beginner golfers to strike the ball with great impact, typically leads to the golfer tensing up and failing to hit the ball with the smooth, seemingly effortless stroke that often characterizes a long ball hitter having proper swing and ball striking techniques.
Similarly, beginner golfers attempting, for example, to hit a high arching shot using a pitching wedge, intuitively attempt to swing up at the ball in a misguided effort to hit it high. In contrast, the proper ball striking technique involves hitting down on the ball just prior to impact and letting the angle of the club face work to loft the ball.
There is a need for golf practice equipment that provides a wide range of user feedback to reinforce a swing that will result in good ball contact and to help correct a habitual swing/ball strike that will predictably result in bad ball contact. In this fashion, particularly when coupled with professional guidance, a golfer may develop a swing that results in optimum ball striking that becomes second nature. Without proper instructional guidance and positive feedback, proper ball striking cannot be readily accomplished.
In accordance with a first exemplary, non-limiting implementation of the present invention, a golf practice mat includes an impact sensor disposed in a vicinity bounding the location of where a golf ball is to be envisioned by the user. By way of example only, a circular indication of the position where a golf ball would be placed for striking is embodied on the practice mat.
The golf practice mat also includes, in an exemplary implementation, a “crosshair” target imprint that is disposed on a golf club impact sensor portion of the practice surface. The target imprint indicates the point/line of contact that the club face should hit the ground after the ball has been struck with the club head in a descending blow. The “crosshair” location reflects the prevailing view that, when a golf ball is to be struck on a golf course fairway, the proper ball striking technique requires hitting down on the ball at impact.
In an exemplary embodiment, a microcontroller receives and analyzes the output of the impact sensor and generates display-related data/output message that is coupled to a display that is, for example, embodied on the golf practice mat to provide stroke/shot-related feedback. In an illustrative embodiment, the display may, for example, provide an indication of the club chosen by the user, the user input amount of backswing rotation, the projected path of the ball after being struck, the estimated distance the ball will travel based upon a projection in light of the impact data analyzed, and/or a line of club head contact with the mat indicative of the disposition of a divot on an actual golf course. In an illustrative implementation, the display may include a 3D simulation of the resulting golf stroke and ball flight.
In an illustrative implementation, an Initial Strike Feedback Circle is embodied on the practice mat that pinpoints exactly where the golfer's initial club head strike fell with respect to an ideal strike point to thereby provide a divot-related indication. The idea behind this is to stimulate the golfer to adjust his/her stroke on the next swing to match an ideal strike point. In an illustrative embodiment, two circles are drawn around the center of a mat zero line, which is the ideal strike point. These circles are populated with closely-packed LEDs that can be individually activated to display, for example, the initial club head strike line.
Certain of the illustrative implementations are based in part upon a recognition that by a microcontroller analyzing the output of an array of impact sensors that detect club head contact at the points corresponding to where a divot would be taken on an actual golf course much can be learned/projected about the golfer's swing and the resulting golf shot. For example, much can be learned about the quality of the golfer's swing just from the size of the initial club head footprint on the impact mat/sensors and its horizontal X-Y position and rotational angle. Then, expanding this 2D geometric model to 3D, more can be learned from the footprint's initial vertical Y-Z downward pressure and rotational angle from toe to heel gleaned from small deltas in the pressure gradient across the length of the footprint in the Y-Z plane. Moreover, even more can be learned within each footprint from any small positional and rotational deltas that are described herein.
In an exemplary embodiment, the device stores a set of a user's golf club impact data over time and analyzes such data for stroke/shot-related trends, e.g., typically makes contact with the clubface open or closed to result in a ball path to the right or left, typically makes contact too far in front or behind the ball, etc. In this fashion, a user may be provided with 1) a wide range of real time and long range swing/ball striking-related feedback and/or 2) real time projected golf shot-related feed back.
Moreover, such data may be processed in accordance with an illustrative implementation such that it may be used by golf club manufacturers and retail outlets for club fitting and optimum golf club selection tailored to the swing of a given golfer. In accordance with illustrative implementations, this data may be processed and advantageously utilized to assist in the selection and/or fitting of the optimum golf club, e.g., TaylorMade, Callaway, Ping, etc., tailored to the swing of a user. Thus, the golf apparatus described herein may be utilized for other applications beyond golf training.
In accordance with a non-limiting exemplary implementation, the visual display may be accompanied by or, if desired, replaced with an audio indication of the stroke analysis.
In accordance with a non-limiting, exemplary implementation, the golf practice mat may include an input mechanism enabling the user to select, for example, a club and stroke to utilize, e.g., a sand wedge to be hit with a short, medium or full backswing. Such backswings, when analogized to the hands of a clock are often referred to, for example, as 7:30, 9:00 and 10:30 position backswings.
In accordance with an exemplary implementation, the optimum distance traveled for each club desired to be included is stored in a memory table embodied in the practice mat's associated microcontroller-based electronics. In one illustrative embodiment, the memory table associates for each club and each of a variety of backswings, an optimum distance value. The table is accessed by the microcontroller to compute stroke distance.
A user, in accordance with an exemplary implementation, selects a manual or automatic mode of operation. In the manual mode of operation, the user inputs the mode of operation defining the club and the stroke utilized. In an automated mode of operation, the microcontroller informs the user via the display and/or an audio output such club and stroke information and sequences through pre-programmed practice drills.
In accordance with a further exemplary embodiment, a user is provided with instructional materials depicting the proper ball striking stroke for various type of shots, such as a distance wedge, short chip, etc. Such materials may be provided in a booklet form provided in association with the golf practice mat.
In a further exemplary embodiment, such golf swing instructional materials may be provided, for example, in a memory card associated with a portable or any other type of computing device. The portable computing device may in accordance with such an exemplary embodiment display a sequence of videographic displays that show, for example, the proper body position for the backswing, ball strike/impact and follow through positions. Because there are varying views with respect to the proper stroke, such memory cards may be generated to represent the approach taught by various well-respected golf professionals/schools (e.g., Dave Pelz, A J Bonar, etc.) and users will preferably be provided with a choice of instructional golf swing sequences. Alternatively, in a further illustrative implementation, the memory card may be received in a memory input port associated with the practice mat microcontroller and the instructional materials may be displayed on the practice mat display.
In yet a further exemplary embodiment, the portable computing device may be utilized to communicate to the microcontroller and control the practice mat display. The mode of operation may be selected by the user from a portable computing device via, for example, conventional wireless communication protocols.
Further, in an illustrative embodiment, after the practice mat microcontroller has analyzed the impact related data, results may be wirelessly communicated to the portable or other computing device for generation of the display of a three-dimensional animated simulation of the results of the stroke that may include the replication of any desired golf course hole. Such a simulated display may be generated on a display screen of any size, including a large TV screen display.
In accordance with further exemplary embodiments, the practice mat may be supplemented with putting extensions/attachments for recording and displaying putts made from various distances in a putting mode of operation. Instructional putting videographic sequences may also be associated with this mode of operation.
In a further exemplary embodiment, the mat be utilized in conjunction with a tethered whiffle golf ball or a hollow, partial or substantially spherical rubber golf ball shell replica fixed to the mat to aid the golfer in envisioning an actual golf placement while practicing golf strokes.
These and other features and advantages of the illustrative embodiments described herein will become apparent with reference to the following drawings and accompanying specification.